Method for producing oxygen from lunar materials

This invention is related to producing oxygen from lunar or Martian materials, particularly from lunar ilmenite in situ. The process includes producing a slurry of the minerals and hot sulfuric acid, the acid and minerals reacting to form sulfates of the metal. Water is added to the slurry to dissolve the minerals into an aqueous solution, the first aqueous solution is separated from unreacted minerals from the slurry, and the aqueous solution is electrolyzed to produce the metal and oxygen

Quartz and Prehnite: Minerals during the Renaissance

Minerals were displayed in wonder rooms for their beauty and used by apothecaries for their medical properties and artists, for sculptures and pigments. Minerals during the Renaissance were collected and displayed in wonder rooms to illustrate the beauty of nature. Humanists would have categorized minerals by their external qualities- color, transparency, form, luster, and smell. Over time, geologists continue to study these external qualities when they are first analyzing minerals, and the internal properties. Today the six major factors in identifying minerals are cleavage, the tendency of minerals to break into flat surfaces; color; crystal form or how the form of the mineral changes as the mineral crystallizes; hardness, the resistance to scratching to measure its strength; luster, the light reflection; and streak, the color of the streak left when a mineral is grinded on porcelain. [excerpt

Mining revival

In relation to its size the United Kingdom (UK) is remarkably well-endowed with mineral resources as a result of its complex geological history. Their extraction and use have played an important role in the development of the UK economy over many years and minerals are currently worked at some 2100 mine and quarry sites. Production is now largely confined to construction minerals, primarily aggregates, energy minerals and industrial minerals including salt, potash, kaolin and fluorspar, although renewed interest in metals is an important development in recent years

Compilation of the data on the land withdrawals in Alaska

Major decisions an the use and disposition of land in Alaska are being made by the State and Federal governments. These decisions will affect the utilization of all our land resources including minerals. Since minerals are an essential component of our existance, the availability and access to minerals is an important issue. There are approximately 2600 land orders and acts classifying land in Alaska that restrict the utilization of our minerals resources. As of April 1977, approximately twenty-six percent of Alaska, or 100,875,391 acres was open to mineral entry and location under the Federal Mining Laws and the State Mining and Mineral leasing Laws

Afghanistan : revival and redevelopment

Major redevelopment projects in Afghanistan are placing large demands on the minerals industry, which is struggling to keep pace. Clive Mitchell and Antony Benham report on the revival of the country’s industrial minerals industry

Conflict Minerals Legislation: The SEC’s New Role as Diplomatic and Humanitarian Watchdog

Buried in the voluminous Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is an oft-overlooked provision requiring corporate disclosure of the use of “conflict minerals” in products manufactured by issuing corporations. This Article scrutinizes the legislative history and lobbying efforts behind the conflict minerals provision to establish that, unlike the majority of the bill, its goals are moral and political, rather than financial. Analyzing the history of disclosure requirements, the Article suggests that the presence of conflict minerals in an issuer’s product is not inherently material information and that the Dodd-Frank provision statutorily renders nonmaterial information material. The provision, therefore, forces the SEC to expand beyond its congressional mandate of protecting investors and ensuring capital formation by requiring issuers to engage in additional nonfinancial disclosures in order to meet the provision’s humanitarian and diplomatic aims. Further, the Article posits that the conflict minerals provision is a wholly ineffective means to accomplish its stated humanitarian goals and likely will cause more harm than good in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In conclusion, this Article proposes that a more efficient regulatory model for conflict minerals is the Clean Diamond Trade Act and the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme

Mineral Acquisition from Clay by Budongo Forest Chimpanzees

Chimpanzees of the Sonso community, Budongo Forest, Uganda were observed eating clay and drinking clay-water from waterholes. We show that clay, clay-rich water, and clay obtained with leaf sponges, provide a range of minerals in different concentrations. The presence of aluminium in the clay consumed indicates that it takes the form of kaolinite. We discuss the contribution of clay geophagy to the mineral intake of the Sonso chimpanzees and show that clay eaten using leaf sponges is particularly rich in minerals. We show that termite mound soil, also regularly consumed, is rich in minerals. We discuss the frequency of clay and termite soil geophagy in the context of the disappearance from Budongo Forest of a formerly rich source of minerals, the decaying pith of Raphia farinifera palms

Impact of Biofield Energy Treatment on Soil Fertility

Measurement of soil components such as microbial population, minerals and obviously the content of organic carbon play the important roles for the productivity of crops and plants. The present study was attempted to evaluate the impact of Mr. Trivedi’s biofield energy treatment on soil for its physical (electrical conductivity), chemical (minerals) and microbial flora (bacteria and fungi). A plot of lands was assigned for this study with some already grown plants. This plot was divided into two parts. One part was considered as control, while another part was subjected to Mr. Trivedi’s biofield energy treatment without physically touching and referred as treated. In the treated soil the total bacterial and fungal counts were increased by 546 and 617%, respectively as compared to the untreated soil. Additionally, the conductivity of soil of the treated plot was increased by 79% as compared to the soil of control plot. Apart from microbes, the content of various minerals were also changed in the biofield energy treated soil. The calcium carbonate content showed 2909 ppm in the control, while in the treated soil it was increased to 3943 ppm i.e. 36% increased. Various other minerals such as nitrogen and potassium were increased by 12% and 7%, respectively as compared to the control. Besides, the level of some minerals such as potassium, iron, and chloride were decreased by 9%, 23%, and 41%, respectively as compared to the control. Apart from chemical constituents of soil, the content of organic carbon was also reduced by 8% in the treated soil as compared to the control soil. The overall results envisaged that the biofield energy treatment on the soil showed a significant improvement in the physical, chemical, and microbial functions of soil component. Thus, improved the conductance, supportive microbes, minerals and overall productivity of crops. In conclusion, the biofield energy treatment could be used as an alternative way to increase the yield of quality crops by increasing soil fertility